Starting Our Lives Together
by JayCee08
Summary: Sequel to Christmas Eve Visitor. Ranger and Steph are working on their relationship and being parents. Ranger and the Merry Men deal with taking care of the baby.


Not mine, just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to "Christmas Eve Visitor".

**Starting Our Lives Together**

**by JayCee08**

**Steph's POV**

It was the start of the New Year. With Ranger back, we started to settle into being a family. It was decided that I will continue to work for RangeMan. I can take Ricky to work with me. There is always someone around to lend a hand if need be. And with my car parked in a secure garage maybe it won't get blown up. Ranger said I needed a sporty fun car. I told him with my history, not to spend money on buying me an expensive car such as a Porsche or a BMW or a Jaguar. We agree on a Crossfire convertible. Of course it is black. He also made sure I had an SUV to drive with a child safety seat built-in for Ricky.

We made arrangements for Ricky's baptism. We picked Tank and Lula to be the godparents. We decided to have the baptism somewhere in between Trenton and Newark so it would be easy for both families to get there. We decided on New Brunswick. We picked St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church for the baptism. We met with Father John to set everything up.

He didn't seem to have a problem with the fact that we were not members of the church as long as we were both Catholics. He wasn't too happy with the fact that we weren't married. But he didn't lecture us. I hope the fact that we are adults and not some teenagers made him back off. We picked the second Sunday in February. We chose the Hyatt Regency that was nearby for the dinner after the baptism.

I had to go shopping and I really didn't want to take Ricky with me. I stopped in Ranger's office to see if he could watch Ricky for a couple hours so I could get the shopping done uninterrupted.

"Hey, do you think you can watch Ricky for a couple of hours?", I asked.

"How long do you plan to be gone, Babe?" he replied.

"Not too long. Maybe two, three hours at the most. He already has been fed and he will probably be ready for a nap. He usually sleeps for a couple hours so I don't think he will be too much trouble." I looked at him hopefully.

"Sure. I think I can handle daddy duty for a while." He said with a smile.

"He has been changed, but here is the diaper bag just in case. There are wipes in there as well as some spit up cloths. Here is his pacifier. There is a bottle in the refrigerator if it looks like it is taking longer than I thought. Just run it under hot water to warm it up. Do not put it in the microwave to heat it up. If he gets cranky, rub some of this Ora-gel on his gums. He is starting to get a tooth."

I spread a blanket down on the ground and placed some toys down. I placed Ricky down on the blanket.

"He can't crawl yet so he won't go far. He is starting to roll so he may roll around which is why I put him on the ground and not on the couch. This way he won't roll off and hurt himself."

"O.K., Babe. I think I can handle it."

"If you run into any difficulties asked Ella for help or call me and I can come back."

"We will be fine. Go have fun shopping. And bring back something sexy for later tonight."

I decided to take the Crossfire seeing I didn't have Ricky. It was sitting in the garage as I have been drive to work with either Ranger or taking the SUV. I went to the mall and hit Macy's first and headed for the Misses' department. I found a beautiful royal blue dress that wasn't slutty like the dresses I usually get for the distraction jobs. It had long sleeves that flared at the wrist and a jewel neckline with a cummerbund belt. The skirt sort of flared out at the hem. It looked good on me. I thought that it was conservative to wear to a baptism but not too dowdy that I could still wear it out to dinner with Ranger. I found the perfect pumps to wear with it.

I then headed for the children's department to look for something for Ricky to wear. I didn't want the typical christening gowns. I found a little white tuxedo though, with a little vest and bow tie. And little white shoes. I chose long pants rather than shorts and knee socks because it was still only February. I found a white bib for him to wear too as he has started teething and was drooling a lot.

I headed to Victoria's Secret and found a bra and panties and stockings to wear with the dress. I then looked for something that Carlos would like.

I couldn't wait to get back to show Carlos what I picked out.

________________

**Ranger's POV**

Steph left and I looked at Ricky.

"Well, little guy, it's just us men." I settled back at my desk and started reading some of the papers. Ricky started to cry so I picked him up and sat back down to continuing going through the papers. He seemed to like be held and settled down. We sat like that for a while

It was about an hour after Steph left when I got a phone call. As I was talking, Ricky started fussing.

"Ah, can you excuse me for a minute?" I put the caller on hold and went to find someone to take Ricky from me. I opened my office door and immediately spotted Lester.

"Lester, take Ricky from me. I have a phone call and he is starting to fuss. It is a conference call and I don't want to be interrupted by anyone." I handed Ricky off to Lester and went back into my office and resumed my phone call.

________________

**Merry Men's POV**

Lester took the baby.

"Hey there, big guy. Why don't we go and see what is happening on the monitors." They went over to the monitors. Ricky didn't seem to like this and started squirming around.

"Hey, knock it off. I can't concentrate with you moving around like that." Lester said.

Hal was sitting next to him.

"Maybe he needs to be changed. Maybe it doesn't feel good sitting in a wet diaper." Hal said.

"Great. I don't know how to change a diaper." Lester said. "What if there is a pile of poop in there."

"Nah." Hal replied. "You would smell it."

Just then there was a distinct odor emitting from the baby.

"Oh God!" Lester cried out. "And I think it leaked through."

Sure enough. Lester picked up Ricky and there was a spot on his pants. He handed the baby off to Hal.

"Hey!" Hal cried out. "What am I supposed to do with him?"

"You were the one with the diaper idea. You do something with him. I need to change clothes." Lester got up to leave.

"Do you know where Steph has the diapers?" Hal asked.

"Let me check her cubicle." Lester got up to go look for it.

"Nope. I don't see the diaper bag. Let me check with Bobby. Maybe he has something we can use." Lester said when he came back.

"Well, hurry up!" Hal said. "The stench is getting very bad. And I don't think Ricky likes it any more then I do."

Lester got Bobby. They looked around for something to use.

"Didn't Steph leave the diaper bag?" Bobby asked.

"I don't see it and Ranger is on a conference call and doesn't want to be interrupted by anyone." Lester informed him.

"Well, how about we use a towel." Bobby said.

"How will it stay on? You know that diapers now have those tabby thingies. Do we have safety pins anywhere?"

"I'll call Ella." Bobby replied. "Hi, Ella. Do you happen to have any safety pins? I just need two. Great, I'll come up and get them. Thanks." He hung up the phone. "She has some. I'll go and get them."

"Good. I am going to quick change." Lester walked to the stairs as Bobby headed for the elevator.

They both came back about the same time. Bobby had the pins and a towel that was folded lengthwise.

"You make sure he doesn't roll off the desk." Bobby said as he started to undo the snaps on Ricky's pants. He pulled the pants out of the way and undid the diaper.

"Oh God! How can a little baby make that much of a mess?" Lester cried.

"Ugh! I need something to wipe him off. It looks like it is going up his back." Bobby said.

Hal ran into the bathroom and came back with paper towels, one wet with soap on it and another that was dry.

"Here." Hal handed the towels to Bobby.

Bobby started to wipe up the poopy bottom when all of a sudden a stream came shooting out. But instead of hitting Bobby, it was aimed at Lester.

"What the...," Lester cried out as he wiped his face. "This kid is a menace. Now I have to go and change again."

"Maybe he doesn't like you." Hal said laughing.

"Laugh it up."

Bobby finished wiping off Ricky's bottom and started to put the towel on. As he was trying to put the safety pin in place, he accidentally stuck the baby. Ricky started crying.

"Good one." Lester said.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to prick him." Bobby said.

They managed to get the towel fastened around the baby and got his pants snapped back on.

"There." Bobby said. "I hope that works until Ranger gets off the phone or Steph gets back.

"I need to change my shirt." Lester said and he walked to the stairs to go back to his apartment to change clothes again.

Bobby was holding Ricky. Ricky seemed to be doing fine now. "So how is it going little man? Your mommy should be home soon."

Ricky started to cry.

"Oh shit!" Bobby said. "It's going to be O.K. Mommy will be home soon."

"What did you do to him?" Hal asked.

"I didn't do anything. I just said that his 'mommy should be home soon' and he started to cry. You don't think he understands that his mommy is here?"

"I don't know. It is obvious that his mommy isn't here. Maybe he can feel when she is around. You know kind of like with Steph and Ranger. How each of them knows when the other is near. He is their kid."

Lester came back to a crying baby.

"What now?" He asked.

"I don't know." Bobby replied. "Maybe he is hungry?"

"I'll check and see if there is a bottle in the refrigerator." Hal said as he ran to the kitchen.

Lester reached to take the baby from Bobby. Just as he took the baby, Hal came back.

"Hey Steph left a bottle in the fridge. I warmed it up in the microwave."

Lester took the bottle and sat down to feed the baby. Ricky seemed to be excited to see the bottle and took it hungrily. All of the sudden he spit up all over Lester and started to scream.

Lester just looked at his shirt. "Damn. And that was my last clean shirt too."

Hal, Bobby and Lester looked at each other. Ricky was still screaming. Just then the elevator doors opened and Steph walked off. Ranger opened his office door and walked into the Control Room.

________________

**Steph's POV**

"What is going on here?" both Ranger and I said together.

I dropped my bags on the floor and ran over to take Ricky from Lester. Ranger ran over to us.

"It's O.K. Ricky. Mommy is here." I said as I cuddled our son to me. Ricky just kept on crying.

"Explain." Ranger said to his men.

"Well, after you asked me to take the baby. I went over to watch the monitors with Hal." Lester started to explain. "Well he started to squirm around and then we realized that he dropped a load in his diaper. Which then leaked on me. We called Bobby, because we couldn't find the diaper bag. Bobby got a towel and some safety pins from Ella. We proceeded to change the diaper. And let me tell you that little boy can sure make a disgusting mess. Bobby got him cleaned up. And then he peed on me."

"Bobby peed on you?" Steph asked.

"No, Ricky. Bobby pricked him with a pin as he was trying to fasten the make shift diaper. And Ricky started to cry again. I went to change clothes again. When I came back, Ricky was still crying and Hal was bringing back the bottle he found in the refrigerator. I started to give Ricky the bottle when he just spit up all over me and started screaming. And then you two showed up." Lester finished.

"Did you run the bottle under hot water to warm it up?" I asked.

"No, I put it in the microwave. I figured it would be faster." Hal replied.

"It was probably too hot and Ricky scalded his mouth on it. You have to be careful with heating up a bottle because microwaves don't always heat evenly." I explained. I then turned to Ranger. "I thought I left you in charge. If I thought you were just going to hand him off to someone else, I would have taken him with me."

"Babe, I am sorry, but I got a conference call and Ricky was starting to fuss. I didn't think that the phone call was going to take that long and that Lester would only have to watch him for a few minutes. I guess it took a lot longer than I thought."

"Why didn't you leave the diaper bag?" Lester asked.

"I did. I gave it to Ranger along with a pacifier and his toys. And I told him what to do when heating up a bottle. But evidently he didn't bother passing along any of that." I said irritated.

"Babe, I have a business to run."

"And this is your son too, you know. He is a baby. And I know he can't talk to tell you what is wrong but he usually will let you know somehow. If he is fussy, you need to find out why he is fussy. Does he need to be changed? Is he hungry? Does he want to be held? Does he hurt? And through a process of elimination you find out what is wrong and deal with it. All I asked for was a couple hours of your time to look after your son. I don't make you get up in the middle of the night to take care of him. Mostly because you aren't equipped with what he needs." That statement got some snickers from the guys.

"But I would have thought you could handle a couple hours." I turned and grabbed my bags and purse and got in the elevator with the baby. I managed to get my keys out and pressed the key fob for the seventh floor.

________________

**Ranger's POV**

The guys all looked at each other sheepishly.

"Sorry, Boss." Lester said.

"Not your fault. I should have given you the diaper bag and other stuff when I asked you to take over. I wanted to get back to the conference call. Steph said that he would probably take a nap while she was gone. So I figured it wouldn't be any problem." I explained.

"Hey, maybe you should go and explain it to her." Bobby said.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Oh, and Lester, go and change your shirt." I said as I made my way to the elevator.

Hal and Bobby wrinkled up their noses as the smell coming off of Lester shirt started to surround the control room.

________________

I opened the door to the seventh floor apartment. The bags from her shopping trip sitting in the entry way. I stepped further into the apartment and saw Steph sitting in a rocker rocking back and forth with Ricky. She had tear streaming down her face. She managed to change his clothes and probably put a decent diaper on him. He was nursing peacefully. No signs of his traumatic afternoon.

I walked into the room and sat on the couch. Steph never looked at me. She just continued to rock and hum a song to Ricky. The tears still falling down her face.

"Babe, I'm sorry."

No response.

"Babe, I didn't mean for anything to hurt Ricky. I would give up my life for him. I am new to all this. I wasn't there when Julie was born. Rachel had to do it all herself. Just like you did for the first couple of months. But I am here now, and I need some guidance on how to take care of my son. Our son."

Steph finally turned and looked at me. Her tears had stopped. She brushed her hand on her cheeks to wipe the tears that were still there. She looked back down at her son. Our son. He was now sleeping peacefully in her arms. She got up and walked over to me and placed our sleeping son in my arms. She fixed her shirt before she sat down next to me.

"I know this is all new for you. It is still all new for me too. But I had nine months to prepare myself for this. You just found out you had a son a couple of weeks ago. I guess I didn't know he was going to be a problem for you. He usually naps after lunch and I thought he would for you too. I guess it's the teething. It can cause him to be irritable and cause diarrhea." Steph started to laugh. "Lester," she said.

I started to laugh too. "He sure got a triple whammy today didn't he. He had just about every type of bodily function thrown at him." I reached to put my right arm around Steph and pulled her closer to me. "I love you, Babe. I love our son."

After a short respite of silence I said. "Do you think we can get Ricky to do all that again on command?"

Steph just punched me on his side and rolled her eyes.

"Why didn't you call Ella instead of handing him off to Lester?" she asked.

"I wasn't thinking. My mind was on the conference call and then Ricky started squirming and I was afraid that I would miss something and didn't want to be distracted. If he had slept, it wouldn't have been a problem."

"He was probably having cramping caused by the diarrhea and that made him squirm. He was trying to relieve the problem."

"And he did it on Lester instead of me. He did well." I said laughing again.

"I think I will take him home." Steph said getting up off the couch.

"Babe, just let him be. I'll get Ella to make us something for dinner. We can eat here and then head for home later or we can stay here for the night."

"Well, I don't want to put Ella out. She isn't used to us being here anymore. She may not have anything on hand for us."

"Let me call and find out."

"O.K. I still have clothes here and I have some things for Ricky here too. We can bring up the portable crib from my cubicle. I don't have my pump here so he is going to have to get his meals straight from the source.'

"Babe."

"I think I need to start pumping more so that way there will be breast milk available in bottles. Then you can start getting up for 2:00 a.m. feedings. We need to share in the responsibilities of caring for our son." She said with a smile.

"Babe."

"Carlos."

_______________

**Steph's POV**

It was the second Sunday in February. I was trying to get ready to head to New Brunswick for the baptism. I had slipped the dress on just as Carlos came into our room with Ricky.

"Wow, doesn't Mommy look beautiful, Ricky?" Ranger said.

Ricky cooed and clapped his hands. I turned and asked Ranger to zip me up. He placed Ricky down on the middle of the bed and placed the pillows so he couldn't roll off. He walked over to me and pulled the zipper up. He placed his hands on my shoulder and placed a kiss on my neck.

"Babe," he said. "You are beautiful but there is something missing." He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and brought out a necklace and fastened it around my neck. I looked down and saw a beautiful locket. It had two stones placed in front.

"Those are Julie's and Ricky's birth stones," he said. "I can have more added if we ever have any more children."

I opened the locket and inside were little pictures. There was a place for four pictures. One was of me, the middle was like a page in a book Julie was on one side and on the other side was a picture of Ricky. Then was a picture of Ranger. When the locket was closed, he would be right by my heart. On the back was an inscription: 'Babe, I love you always, C.'

"Carlos, it is beautiful, thank you so much." I cried.

"I love you." Ranger said. "Thank you giving me our son. And for helping to save Julie. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have these precious gifts. I wouldn't be a father. I wouldn't be getting to know my daughter. And I wouldn't have this beautiful little boy. You have brought love and joy into my life and I can never thank you or love you enough."

"I love you so much. I can't imagine my life without you, Julie and Ricky in it."

I had been communicating regularly with Julie since the Scrog incident. We talk on the phone once a week and exchange emails. I made sure she got regular updates and pictures of Ricky. She is coming up for a visit over spring break. We had wanted her here for the baptism but we didn't want her to miss school.

He kissed me then.

Ricky let himself be heard just then.

"Babe, I think he is telling us that this is supposed to be his day and he is feeling neglected."

"I don't think he realizes just how much attention he is going to be getting today."

________________

We were all heading to New Brunswick for the baptism. We had a caravan of sorts with us in the lead, followed by my parents and grandma, followed by Tank, Lula and Connie, followed by the Merry Men or at least those who could get off, followed by Val and her family and bringing up the rear was Mary Lou and Lenny and their boys.

We pulled into the church parking lot and all got out. I hope people didn't think they were being invaded.

We walked into the church. Father John met us as we entered. Carlos' family was already there. His mother coming over to see her grandson. I removed Ricky's fleece bunting and handed him to his Grandma Maria.

"Oh, will you look at him all decked out in his little white tuxedo." She cooed.

Everyone came over to ooh and ah over our son. Ricky just looked at everyone and smiled. He knew he was the star.

"Is everyone here?" Father John asked.

"Yes, I think so," as I surveyed the church.

"O.K. Let's get started." He said.

We all made our way to the front of the church.

"Whom have you chosen to be godparents for Ricardo?" Father John asked.

"Our friends, Tank and Lula," I said.

Father John paled at the sight of Tank and Lula as they made their way up by us. Lula at least chose a slightly less revealing dress then she normally picked, but it was bright orange and snug and on her full-figure body. Tank was dressed in a nice button down green striped shirt with a tie and khaki pants.

"O.K." Father John said. "Why don't you take the baby, uh, Lula? You can stand here with, uh, Tank is it?"

"Yes," Tank replied.

"And you, Stephanie and Carlos can stand here." Father John indicated. "The rest of your family and friends can either sit in the front pew here or gather around the baptismal font."

Everyone had taken their seats or gathered around us. Bobby had the video camera and was standing off to the side the capture the event. Other family members had their cameras and started to snap pictures. Father John started the service.

"Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded of you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Hear also these words from the Holy Scripture: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, our Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of all, who is above all and through all and in all." Father John said. He turned to Ranger and me.

"Do you the parents desire that Ricardo be baptized?"

"Yes, we do," Ranger and I said.

"Relying on God's grace, do you promise to walk in the way of Christ and teach that way to your child?"

"Yes, we do," we replied.

Father John turned to our family sitting in the pews.

"Do you, as members of this extended family promise to guide and nurture Ricardo by word and deed, with love and prayer, encourage him to walk in the way of Christ and his peace, standing up for God's justice in this world?"

"We do," was the reply.

"Let us pray. The Lord be with you."

"And also with you." Everyone responded.

"Let us give thanks to the Lord our God."

"It is right to give our thanks and praise."

"We give you thanks, O God," Father John continued. "For you nourish and sustain all living things by the gift of water. In the beginning of time, your Spirit moved over the watery chaos, calling forth life itself. In the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus was baptized by John and was filled with your Spirit which gives life to all. We thank you, O God, for the water of baptism. Through it we are cleansed of our sins and are reminded that all good things come from God, especially the gift of life."

Father John came over by Lula and took Ricky into his arms. He moved over to the font.

"Ricardo Carlos, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

He said as he placed water on Ricky's head. Ricky squirmed and Father John placed his hand on Ricky's head as he continued. "O Lord, uphold Ricardo Carlos by your Holy Spirit. Give him the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in you presence, both now and forever. Amen."

Father John walked over to Ranger and placed Ricky into his arms. He then continued.

"The peace of Christ be with you."

"And also with you." Everyone responded.

"Gracious God, giver of all life, we pray for Carlos and Stephanie. Give them wisdom and patience to guide their child in the way of Jesus Christ. Let your peace and joy dwell in their home, that they and his extended family may live in faith, hope and love. That their family life may be instructed by faith, sustained by prayer and governed by love. Strengthen them in their own baptism, that they may rejoice as children of God, and serve you faithfully, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Go in peace."

Everyone stood up and gathered around Ricky. We had pictures taken. And then we all headed out to the cars and went to invade the Hyatt Regency for the dinner celebration.

________________

We had a small room reserved for all of us. Ella had made a cake for the occasion. Ricky was being passed around as more pictures were taken. I think he had to be the most photographed baby in the world. Ranger pulled me away. Once I made sure Ricky was in good hands, I went with Ranger. He led me into an unused room.

"Babe", he said. "I was going to wait for later to do this. But I thought with all of our family and friends all here what better place to make an announcement."

I held my breath as he pulled out a ring.

"Babe, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Are you sure this is something you want?"

"Babe, that isn't the response I was looking for. Yes, I want this. I love you. I want to be with you forever. Marry me."

I threw my arms around his neck. "Yes, I will marry you. I want to be your wife."

He placed the ring on my finger and we shared a passionate kiss. When we broke apart, I looked at the ring on my finger. It was gorgeous. I was a platinum band with a large round diamond with some smaller round diamonds on either side. There were even smaller diamonds set in the band.

"Babe, we better get back or they might think we abandoned our son."

We headed back into the room. No one seemed to know we were gone. Except Grandma Mazur. She looked at us and gave us a wink. Maybe she thought we had snuck off for a quicky. Ranger retrieved Ricky from his sister Celia and placed him in the carrier.

Ranger and I took our seats at the table we shared with our parents and Grandma Mazur. Ricky was sitting in the carrier next to me. Ranger held my left hand so no one could see the ring. After everyone took their seats, Ranger hit his water glass with a knife to get everyone's attention. He pulled me up with him as he stood.

"First of all, Steph and I would like to say thank you for being here and for your love and support. All of you are an important part of our lives and we appreciate you taking time out or your busy schedules to be part of this special occasion. I can't thank everyone enough for taking care of Steph and Ricky while I was gone. Secondly, I have asked Stephanie, the mother of my son, to be my wife. And she has agreed to marry me."

Everyone jumped up and rushed over to us to hug and congratulate us. When my mom came up to me, I could see the wheels turning.

"Mom." I said. "Stop. Carlos and I are going to plan this wedding our way. I will ask for your input, but in the end it will be our decision. I don't want you picking out the dresses and the tuxes. I don't want you reserving halls and churches. Carlos and I are capable of handling planning a wedding and we will do it how we want it." I said.

"O.K. Steph. If that is how you want it." She said a little sad. "I will abide by your wishes. I am just happy that you are finally getting married."

"Pumpkin, I am so happy for you that you finally found someone that makes you happy and that cares and loves you for whom you are." My dad said.

"Thank you, Daddy. I am very happy. It came as a surprise. We hadn't talked about it. I would have been just as happy just living together and having Carlos in my life."

Daddy went and shook Ranger's hand. "Carlos, take care of my little girl and my grandson."

"I will Frank. You don't know how happy I am that she agreed to marry me." Ranger said.

After the flurry of congratulations and hugs and kisses, dinner was served. After dinner Ranger, Ricky and I went to cut the cake that Ella made. Ricky was starting to get tired after all the festivities so I rocked him so he would fall asleep. Once he was asleep, I finally got to dig into my piece of cake.

Then it was time to open all the gifts for Ricky. There was a silver plated bank from Tank and Lula that was engraved with his name and the date of his baptism along with Tank's and Lula's names. There was a bible with a savings bond from my grandma. Several other savings bonds from the Merry Men. Our parents set up a trust fund for him. Mary Lou gave him a blanket embroidered with his name and date of his baptism. He got several outfits that he will grow into.

Then it was time to go. Ranger carried the gifts out to the car while I put the fleece bunting on Ricky trying not to wake him. Everyone came up to say goodbye and to give Ricky a kiss. They all said how happy they were that Ranger and I were getting married.

Ranger came back in to get Ricky and me. We got in the car and headed for home. Ranger reached over and took my hand. He brought it to his lips and he kissed it. He looked over at me and smiled.

"I love you, Babe. You don't know how happy you have made me."

"I love you too. I think I am still in shock. I always dreamt of you asking me to marry you, but I didn't think it would become a reality. You always said you weren't family material and your love comes with a condom but not a ring."

"Well, Babe, obviously the condom didn't work and now I have a family. I also said that maybe it would happen someday. Well, someday is here." He kissed my hand again before placing it on his thigh. We continued the drive home in contented silence.

________________

I was deep in thought when we arrived home.

"Babe," Ranger said.

I looked around and noticed that we had pulled into the garage at the batcave.

"Oh," I said. "We're home already?"

"Yeah, where did you go off to?"

"I was just thinking."

"Care to share?"

"After we get Ricky in bed."

I went and got Ricky out of the back seat while Ranger collected the gifts. We both headed to the door to enter the house. I stopped long enough to take my coat off and hang it in the closet before heading up to Ricky's bedroom.

Once I started to take off his bunting off, he woke up which I was afraid would happen.

"Hey there, little guy. You had a busy day, didn't you?"

Ricky smiled and raised his arms to be picked up. I decided that I would give him a bath and put him in his jammies before I nursed him. I was going to miss that bonding that we shared. He was almost six months old.

I carried him into the bathroom and started to fill the bathtub. I placed his ring in the tub.

Ranger came in to assist. I got Ricky's little tux off. I wondered if he could wear it still when we got married. I had no idea when Ranger wanted to do this or where. Did he want to get married in the church, courthouse or run off to Las Vegas? I guess we had some decisions to make. I left Ranger in charge so I could go and change out of my dress.

I returned to the bathroom. Ricky was splashing in the water. Ranger looked a little wet himself.

"Hey, Babe," Ranger said. "You want to tell me what you were thinking on the way home? You're not changing your mind are you?"

"Not on your life, Carlos. I think you are going to be stuck with me." I replied.

He sighed. "I thought you were going to tell me that you didn't want to get married after all."

"I was thinking about the wedding though. You never said if you wanted to get married in the church or the courthouse or run off to Las Vegas or somewhere."

"I always thought that we would get married in the church."

"But what about the fact that we both are divorced? Don't we have to get our previous marriages annulled?"

"I don't know, Babe. I never thought about it. I will have to ask Rachel if she got married in the church or not and if she got an annulment."

"When do you want to do this?"

"If we get married in the church, I would give you enough time to get things arranged."

"Give ME enough time? This is OUR wedding and you are going to be as much a part of this as I am. Don't go dumping the arrangements all on my shoulders."

"Babe, I didn't mean it like it sounded. But I do know that it takes time to order dresses and have alterations done."

"What about a honeymoon? I don't want to leave Ricky while I am still nursing. I am assuming that you don't want him along."

"Well, it would be ideal not to have to take him along." Just then Ricky splashed Ranger in the face.

"O.K. little guy. Time to get out of there." I said laughing. I picked him up and wrapped him in the towel and carried him into his room to put his pajamas on. Ranger followed me so we could continue the conversation.

"So, if we don't take him, he will have to stay with one of our parent's houses." I continued.

"And the problem?" he asked.

"Well, how long are you planning on us being gone?"

"I thought two weeks, maybe three."

"TWO WEEKS!" I cried. "I don't think I can be away from him that long."

"Babe, where I have planned on taking you we wouldn't be able to do it in only one week."

"Where are you going to take me?"

"It's a surprise Babe." He kissed me.

I pouted as I picked Ricky up to take him downstairs. Ranger followed.

"Can we wait until Ricky is a year old? It's only little more than six months away. That way I won't be nursing any more and he will be eating solid foods."

"Babe, if you will feel more comfortable with waiting until then. Than that is all right by me. I know it is going to be hard to tear you away from him. I am just hoping that I can distract you so you aren't worrying about him and you can enjoy our time together."

"I know I will enjoy my time with you." I said seductively. I reached up with one hand and placed it behind his neck as I pulled him down to give him a passionate kiss.

Ricky started to fuss and I knew he wanted to nurse. I got settled on the couch and lifted up my shirt and undid my nursing bra. It wasn't a sexy Victoria's Secret bra, but I noticed Ranger's eyes get black as he watched me get Ricky settled.

"Babe, I get so turned on when I watch you nurse our son."

"I'll take care of you later." I said with a smile.

"So, what else have you been thinking of?" he asked.

I hesitated knowing that what I was about to say would probably bother him.

"I was thinking that I need to talk to Joe and tell him personally that we are getting married."

Ranger's face went blank so I quickly continued.

"I know that he already knows about us, he even knows about Ricky. I saw him once while I was pregnant. I ran into him while I was picking up subs for the guys and me. He saw that I was pregnant. He asked where you were and I told him that I didn't know exactly. That you didn't even know I was pregnant because you had left before I found out. Joe thought that maybe you had skipped town and left me alone to deal with raising a child by myself. I told him that I didn't know how you would react once you found out but I was hoping that you wouldn't leave me. I told him that I hoped our love was strong enough. He just laughed and said that when you did run off to give him a call. I just turned around and left. I haven't talked to him since. I know I don't owe him an explanation but I feel I need to make him aware that you and I are in this together and we are going to make it work and it is going to be forever."

He leaned over and gave me a kiss.

"Babe, I don't think he deserves an explanation. He treated you wrong and is still treating you wrong. But if it makes you feel better than do it."

"I don't want to upset you."

"I am not upset. But, I don't think you owe Joe anything. I think Ricky is asleep. I think it is time for you to take care of me, Babe." Ranger said with his wolf grin.

I got up off the couch and headed up stairs. Ranger took care of the lights and made sure the doors were locked and the alarm on. He met me in Ricky's room as I was covering him up with his blanket.

"Sweet dreams Ricky. Mommy loves you." I said softly as I kissed him.

Ranger leaned over and gave him a kiss also. "Goodnight little guy. Daddy loves you."

I turned on the baby monitor. Ranger took my hand and led me out of the room. He shut the light off.

"Come on, my future wife. It's time for Mommy and Daddy to play."

I remembered the items I bought for Ranger at Victoria's Secret that I hadn't worn yet. I hope he likes them.

The End

NOTES:

Baptismal service was taken from although I did add somethings. I don't know if that is actually how a Catholic baptism is done. So please don't throw stones. I am not Catholic and I have only attended one Catholic baptism.


End file.
